It may save your wallet to buy fake football shirts, but TÜV SÜD experts explain some of the real damages.

According to a recent BBC report, thousands of football shirts have been seized in the UK, days before the start of the World Cup. Although football fans may think that they are getting a bargain, black-market football shirts have underlying issues behind them beyond aesthetics.

Fans need to be conscious of the products that they are buying; most try to ignore the fact that what they are purchasing originates from sweat shops in the Far East, with workers operating in inhumane conditions and receiving insufficient wages. Products are manufactured in bulk and safety is often ignored to minimise costs, at the risk of the workers and often the end user.

Not only should you be cautious of products imported to the UK, but products such as sunglasses, handbags and belts, bought from holiday markets. Black-market products use poor quality materials and often contain chemicals which are restricted in Europe and may have side effects when exposed to sunlight or liquids such as sweat or alcohol. One such chemical, Dimethylformamide (DMF) which has some serious health issues, is often used to prevent damp affecting the products prior to purchase, caused during transit and from the poor manufacturing conditions.

We recommend that you should always check that you are buying from a licensed retailer, not only to prevent disappointment from poor manufacture, but to stay safe.

To stay up-to-date with consumer products that are being removed from the European market, visit RAPEX (The Rapid Alert System for Non-Food Products) where you can receive weekly notifications.

To view the original BBC report please follow this link

Published June 10th 2010.